


Wind Arc

by ToraRyusei



Series: Five Elements [4]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2020-06-27 13:50:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19792195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToraRyusei/pseuds/ToraRyusei





	1. One Eyed Monster

Grass coming up to one’s head, dense and wet from the morning dew. A frigid air ran through a desolate tone, whistling past buildings with cracked windows and rusty, molded interiors. A town abandoned out of fear of nuclear radiation. Thousands of acres of radiated soil, thousands of lives uprooted in just a few days. The radiation poisoning alone would keep any ordinary person far away from this place, the exact same reason why these four men now stood in this town.

Armed with automatic, military grade firearms, they awaited a delivery just outside of an abandoned game center, a dilapidated arcade filled with machines too covered in toxic radiation to be taken. Broken glass was strewn about the interior, the colorful machines covered in dust, yet remaining largely resilient despite the years laying stagnant.

"They better not be making us wait any longer in a creepy place like this." One spoke up. He stood to the far right of the group, all of them in a line.

They all stood keeping a lookout for the truck that would be bearing their cargo. They were well-dressed, contrasting with firearms of a caliber no ordinary criminal would be toting, especially not in Japan. Lightweight, compact submachine guns that would often seem like overkill for those in their line of work. They were usually lucky enough to carry a pistol with them, the fact put the man who'd spoken even more on edge than usual as he wondered the reasoning for why they’d been given such firepower.

"Relax, Lomo. Go inside and play some games, you're making everyone else nervous with your yapping." Said another with growing frustration.

"There's no power here. Even if there was, touching those machines would kill you." Stated a third in a calm tone.

"Damn it, now I don't even feel like pissing around here anymore." Murmured a fourth.

"Hold it in until we're done. You're gonna get a disease if you pull it out here, Tai." Said the second man to have spoken. He looked over to the third, speaking once more

"Boss, how much longer do we have to stand around here?"

"Not much longer. If they're not here soon, we assume they got caught and we bail. Be ready, Ran. Same goes to the rest of you.” Stated the third man, their boss, addressing the second.

“Heh, aren’t the police supposed to _not be patrolling those roads today?_ ” Replied Tai snidely.

“We had a deal with the chief, but that doesn’t mean some rookie cop won’t screw up this deal for us.” Replied Ran.

“If that’s the case, we could always track the rookie down…fresh pig meat.” Replied Lomo, a nasty grin creeping up his face.

“Stop daydreaming, we’re here to work.” Snapped their boss.

The group fell silent, with only the occasional utterance from Tai cursing the lack of a non-contaminated bathroom.

Unbeknownst to the yakuza, a beast lingered in the shadows. A beast with a single eye exposed, his superhuman strength and abilities gone, leaving him little more than an ordinary human. Yet here he was, preparing to face off against four armed criminals. Ordinarily it would be no trouble whatsoever for the Tiger, nothing more than another obstacle to overcome. He’d gone out alone, knowing that if anyone close to him had known of his whereabouts they would have surely stopped him. The only advantage left to him were his skills...and that unreliable eye.

Four armed men. Submachine guns. They had been expecting to come into trouble. Had they expected him? That should be impossible, even the yakuza shouldn’t have any idea as to Takii’s being vigilante by night. As he was he’d have trouble with just handguns, so there was no chance he could charge at them like usual, he needed to be smart about how to approach them...

The Wolf Clan, which prided itself on excellent coordination between their members as though speaking to one another telepathically, had taught him a lot about how to take down groups of enemies. Surely four humans who probably didn’t even have the proper training for those firearms would be easy to overcome.

Four of them. Two to the left of the front entrance relative to Takii, two to the right. The first to talk was one of the pair on the right, Lomo. He’d seemed the most anxious to get this job done with, the easiest to provoke. The second to talk was called Ran, calm and quick to reign in the others. Then the ones on the left, their Boss and the last one to speak, Tai …all he could gather was he wanted to use the bathroom.

The only reliable weapon on hand was a knife. He preferred the comfort and precision a knife could give him; he couldn’t control the speed of a bullet or predict its ricochet should it miss. Not that he’d ever used a gun before. He’d leave the firearms to the human, he had everything he needed.

A swift of the knife in his hand had him daintily grasping the blade. He calculated the arc in his hand, keeping it low so they wouldn’t notice the knife until it hit its target. One flick of his wrist threw the knife across the game center, landing with a loud echo on glass and breaking the silence.

Lomo turned immediately and unloaded onto the area from where he’d heard the sound emerge. He expended his ammo until the only noise left was the empty ‘click, click’ of a trigger pulled on an empty magazine.

“Dammit, Lomo! What the hell did you do that for?!” Ran barked at the man.  
  


“You almost scared the piss out of me!” Tai chimed in, squeezing his legs together even tighter now.

“I fuckin’ heard something! There’s someone there!” Said Lomo, his voice agitated as he kept the gun pointed at the arcade interior.

“Calm down, all of you.” Said their Boss, “Lomo, go see what could’ve made that noise. Ran, back him up.”

Ran clicked his tongue at being pushed the duty of babysitting Lomo and his itchy trigger finger. Lomo started walking cautiously through the pathway made by the rows of arcade machines.

He was to Takii’s right with Ran following from the row to Takii’s left at a slower than Lomo. He secretly hoped that he might get bitten by some radioactive rodent that managed to survive, Lomo had been nothing but a hinderance during their entire operation.

Takii shut his eyes to better focus on the sound of the footsteps. He was hidden behind a crane machine where a small path connected the two rows, he would be spotted by Lomo before he could make his move. He had to spring up on him immediately and take him down, then move onto Ran. For that he would have to know precisely when to strike. Time the approach of their footsteps for his attack. The click of a fresh magazine into Lomo’s gun, nearly deafening the sound of the two men’s footsteps. Three…two…the clear squeak of rubber against the floor was his indicator. Takii sprung.

“What the—!?"

Lomo didn’t have a moment to finish his words as they were strangled from him by Takii’s hand slamming him down by the throat, into the camouflage that the rows of arcade machines provided.

“Shit!”

Ran watched as his teammate was ambushed by a figure emerging from just out of sight. Much as he hated his teammate, Ran wouldn’t dare open fire without a clear shot of whoever had taken Lomo down. He kept the barrel of the gun trained on the crane machine where Ran had been taken behind of. The windows of the machine would provide him a glimpse of the floor to the opposite side of Ran, all he had to do was slowly move into position…

No muffled screaming, no sounds of any struggle whatsoever. Whoever had taken Lomo down was a professional. A rival organization? Or had their employer sent one of those monsters?

“Ran, what’s going on!?”

Their Boss barked from the entrance. Both him and Tai had turned to look back into the arcade a moment too late.

“We’ve been found out! Those bastards must’ve double crossed us!”

Ran yelled back, his cool having been shattered in the face of rising stress as he wondered who or what could be hiding beneath those machines.

“Tai, get to the truck! We’re killing whatever got Lomo and getting out of here!”

The Boss’ subordinate didn’t hesitate in running to the driver’s side of the vehicle, a four-seater with a large container at its rear.

The Boss kept his gaze on Ran as he aimed his submachine gun, a steady finger on the trigger. Unlike Lomo, he wasn’t about to be startled by just any noise. He’d been trained with all manner of firearms, as he’d been an executioner for the crime family where he’d spent twenty years of his life. He’d earned a long criminal record, and he was about to show the monster that was hiding just how dangerous he could be.

Those thoughts were stopped short as a dagger sunk itself into his right shoulder, the gun falling from his hand.

Ran turned to see his Boss be hit hard by a thrown knife, the man he admired grunting with pain.

“Wh…at…?”

He had finally turned the corner just to witness through the glass that Lomo had been knocked unconscious and the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen, and now the leader of his team had been taken out without them getting so much as a glimpse as to who did it.

Worse yet, Ran had turned his back on the Beast.

The hand that held his gun had been twisted around his back, the tip of a shard of glass was pressed to his neck.

“Don’t move.” The voice of that Beast came low like a growl.

Even as his life seemed to have reached its end, Ran could only wonder…what about Tai?

The engine roared with sudden life. Tai had witnessed it all as he was getting into the truck. Ran, Lomo, the Boss, they were all as good as dead. The Boss held his arm, his fingers twitching as they tried to curl themselves around the gun once more and take aim. Ran seemed ready to faint as sweat poured down his face.

Lomo must have already been dead, Ran would be next, then the Boss…Tai wasn’t letting himself be the fourth.

He shut the door to the truck, fumbling with putting the keys in a few times before he finally managed to stop the trembling of his hands long enough to start the vehicle. He grabbed the wheel in a vice grip and slammed his foot on the gas…

He was too late. Two, four loud bursts like gunfire, followed by the truck slowly sinking down…the tires had been popped, there was no chance of Tai getting away. He could see a black figure approaching in the rearview mirror, though the moment he caught a glimpse of the being’s mismatched eyes, the mirror cracked.

“Haa...haahaa…! WHAT _IS_ THAT?” Tai’s voice mixed with dry heaving like hysterical laughter.

He could hear the monster approaching, his eyes fearful to look upon him but too frozen to look away. The truck’s seat had been soiled. The next moment became completely blank, Tai had been knocked unconscious in a single blow by the monster.

…

Takii observed the back of the truck, a large shutter door protecting these all-important goods that the yakuza had come to sell. To use a truck this size and for them to do their business in a quarantined zone, it had to be something expensive. High quality drugs, maybe even firearms like the ones they carried…either way, they had to be destroyed.

“Hands off…the…merch…”

Groaned their boss, the only one still conscious.

The man struggled to his feet, but he wasn’t much of a threat with his wound bleeding out. Takii had made sure to hit his shoulder in just a way to give his arm muscles trouble moving that appendage while forcing him to use his other arm to slow down the bleeding. It wouldn’t be anything major regardless…just enough to pass out. Still a less than favorable choice for incapacitating someone, but there was little he could do without his normal level of strength.

“It’s over. I’ve already gathered up and destroyed all your weapons. Whatever you’re keeping in this truck is next.”

“Huh…?”

The pale face of the man responded with confusion, as much as a body being exhausted could muster.

“You’ve got…no idea…what’s in there?” The Yakuza Boss scoffed, a grin slowly forming on his face.

“Wait…I know you…yeah, they told us you might be coming…” The man seemed to resign himself to the poor twist of fate he’d been delivered, leaning against the side of the arcade’s entrance, staring at the single golden eye of Takii’s.

“Go on…open it. You’ll love the surprise.”

The line irritated Takii. He had enough of being considered a mere boy, one without any knowledge of what’s going on. That very fact irritated him to no end.

He lifted his eye patch, the gaze of his Evil Eye making quick work of breaking the lock on the door. With the heft of one arm, he swung the door up. Cold air soon covered his vision, releasing frigid mist out.

Once the dense chill had settled, Takii could look inside to witness the cargo…

The frigid blast from the truck’s interior escaped into the day, billowing like fog. What was inside had been carefully kept at a cold temperature, they’d spared no expense for the products they delivered.

Bodies hanging from hooks punctured through their hands.

A collection of eyes of all colors, kept meticulously in glass cases.

Organs which floated in windowed boxes, neatly arranged by their position on the human body.

Packs of blood on the opposite side, each labelled with the type along with the human they had been harvested from. They even came with photos of the individuals.

It was a meat market. Everything had been prepared with the intention to sell these body parts. As nourishment, as luxuries…

“They’re for monsters like you.” The Boss said with a crooked grin on his face. The words sunk into Takii’s chest.

“Ugh…”

Nauseous, his vision blurry. A hand pressed to his mouth to keep back whatever would erupt from them. His breathing became erratic the more he thought of what was in front of him.

The work of people who had done the work to slowly take apart several bodies, skinning them open, removing what was important, all clear and organized in order to be displayed. They were products.

Blood rushed to Takii’s head, driving his thoughts to extremes. Anger, sadness, it all boiled to the surface. His breath quickened until he couldn’t control it.

_Someone did this. This was a business running beneath his nose. A trafficking of human bodies._

Takii felt the cracks in his psyche grow. Worn down by the constant stress of the past few months, his calm broke. His Beast side emerge.

He turned to the Yakuza’s Boss, the moment he did the man’s look of triumph turned to that of fear. Of what he’d helped bring about. Takii lumbered closer to him, his hands snapped to the man’s neck without hesitation, squeezing his windpipe in a clawed grip. His teeth clenched as if to cage the volatile anger he felt would spew out.

His vision went black.


	2. Welcome Back.

A glum looking man, his face long and the creases of age deep and worn. Grey hair with not a hint of black in there, contrasting a dapper black suit. He rested his chin against his palm as he looked out the tinted window of the jet-black vehicle. William Steele, CIA.

“Letting themselves be led by a schoolgirl that ends up tearing the whole organization in two…What’s more, the power she once held gets stolen away by the very pawn they manipulated.” He continued, releasing a sigh.

“We have that man to thank for giving us this opportunity. The Hunters of Japan are now too preoccupied with their own internal affairs to do anything about us.”

A second man dressed sharply and with eyes that like the piercing gaze of a snake sat opposite to his more elderly companion. James Adkin, businessman, Dhampir.

They also called his kind Daywalkers, vampires of half-blood who possessed none of their full-blooded brethren’s weaknesses or need to drink blood. In return, they lacked some of the otherworldly strength of their brethren. This suited James just fine, however. He would much rather lurk among humans and toy with them than live with the antiquated and arrogant full-blooded vampires.

Right now, he was conducting a deal with the gentleman seated beside him. The car chauffeured by one of James’ many Servants. A human who had their blood sucked from them and turned into a thrall, little more than a ghoul with a lack of free will. At least they could serve for menial tasks like driving and killing.

“His are the stubborn type, those who believe they fight for justice. When one lacks a good control of their kind, they can often cause more trouble than they’re worth.” William responded.

“There are many like him in Japan, however. Then of course there’s those who are even further removed from humanity that will try and oppose our little takeover. They call them Youkai.”

“Ah yes, the monsters you told me about. If the Hunters of this country with their measly numbers could hold them back for so many years, then our agents with the might of America behind them will surely be able to crush them without much resistance.”

The younger man scoffed.

“You sure don’t give your enemies any mercy, do you, Mr.Steele?”

“Death is the only certain way to make sure they don’t rise against you once more. The Hunters have been too lax with wanting to protect their precious balance, a new approach is required. It’s unfortunate that they proved themselves unworthy of protecting their country, now it’s up to the CIA to take over for them.”

William adjusted his collar, fixing the slightly too large suit he always wore. He tilted the pin on his lapel, that of a U.S. flag. One he wore with pride.

“It _does_ always end up this way, the good old US of A having to lend a hand to the rest of the world. Correct their ways, keep those evildoers in line.”

“These aren’t ordinary foes, William. You can’t send in airplanes to bomb the forests where these Youkai reside or invade with your ground troops.”

“You take me for a fool. Do you not know how the CIA operates?”

“I say this because I know _exactly_ how your organization does things.”

“Hmph, there is no need for military weaponry on the monsters of a small island country. You fight fire with fire, a monster for a monster. That is why I’ve called upon you, Mr. Adkin.”

James smiled.

“I’ve managed to convince plenty of my investors to give me their best men for this job. They’ve all been promised control over their own region of Japan for their feeding. Of course, I assume that there will be no problem with culling the local population of monsters once we’ve rested control of the nation from the Hunters, yes?”

“You all can do as you please. It is a free market economy, and you as a businessman with so much experience in Japan will know what’s best for this country. We only hope you may consider the United States’ interests when it comes time to make decisions.”

William states wryly.

“Americans are always so gracious when the price is right.” James responded wryly.

“This is simply the best way for us to preserve our interests. Our agents will be monitoring things from afar, call upon them should you need assistance.”

William slapped his palms onto his lap, now looking over at James with a beaming smile.

“I’d care to assess the progress of this country since the occupation by American forces. Do you know the best way to see a country’s development, Mr. Adkin?”

James quirked a brow. William delightedly answered:

“You see how good their hamburgers are, of course.”

\----

“Never did I expect us to be doing business. Not you or any of your clan.”

A synthesized voice, flat in its intonation while neither feminine nor masculine in its vocals. Kuru, an artificial lifeform, referred to as a Karakuri by her creators, the heir to a family of humans whose history had been entwined with that of the various Beast clans for thousands of years.

Once they had served as loyal vassals to the Tiger and Dragon families, studying them, seeking to emulate their strength in order to better improve humanity. Over time, they learned to create artificial life, dolls of bone white skin and dense material, their dolls. The family kept improving on their research through generations, until at last they decided to leave the task to their family’s last heir…Kuru.

A Karakuri with the ability to learn and grow, a manner of artificial human with the power to usher in the next evolution for humanity. She would never die, her intelligence surpassing that of the human brain, needing no rest…She was the living legacy of the family that had created her.

To fund her research, she had taken to creating less intelligent Karakuri for the various Beast families. Servants, guards, assassins, she had little qualm for what they decided to use them for. The Dragon family especially had taken to using her dolls to help expand their business, they were reliable tools when humans and other Beasts fell short, expendable too.

But the Tiger family had never approached Kuru in the hopes of purchasing her Dolls. Takii was far and away the least likely candidate to ask for dolls to do his work for him. She knew the man, studied him, both his personality and his genetics…surely he must be desperate to come and seek help from her.

“I need your Dolls. As many as you can provide right now.” Takii began.

They sat in the decrepit old house that hid Kuru’s true base of operations, an underground laboratory.

“I can give you 500 in three days time. Basic combat abilities, responsive to even complex commands, and capable of communicating with one another and yourself, provided the proper equipment to monitor their status. That will cost extra.”

Kuru assumed he needed a small army, hence the offer of surveillance of the myriad of mechanical troops he would soon have at his disposal.

“Fair enough. I’ll assume that they have non-lethal options when it comes to combat, too?”

“My latest dolls share your fighting techniques; they should be able to manage not killing their opponents just as you do.”

Kuru stated matter of factly. A small army of Takiis, albeit not as strong or adaptive as the Tiger himself…rather fearsome, Takii thought.

“All right…then for my last request. How much is it to hire you to help me?” Takii leaned forward. This was no joke, as unbelievable as today had been.

Kuru paused, the artificial intelligence needing a second to process this.

“To command the Dolls, I assume? My creations do not come cheap, neither does my time. Tell me who this opponent of yours is that you would need me as an ally as well.”

“So even a logical being like yourself gets curious sometimes, huh?” Takii smirked.

“I merely wish to know whether assisting you might benefit my research. Financial interests alone won’t gain you me as an ally.” Kuru retorted without a moment’s hesitation.

“I would have to tell you anyways, I guess. Right now, there’s a trade…human bodies, organs, blood…food for monsters. They aren’t youkai, they’re monsters from all parts of the world, at least that’s what I gathered from interrogating some folk.” Takii’s hands came together in front of him, tense.

“I nearly went and killed the guy I was questioning…” A lower voice, ashamed of nearly snapping once more. One life was enough blood on his hands.

“They took over several crime families all over Japan, it was a pretty organized move too, forcefully removing the bosses at the top all in the span of a few days. Some of the monsters made it look like nothing’s changed, others only putting a few people in the know…one of the families that’s been operating nearby had their boss killed pretty gruesomely in front of the higher ranking members, maybe as a sign not to cross the new leader.

Someone is clearly orchestrating all of this. The monsters are taking advantage of the Youkai Hunters’ internal strife to do what they want in Japan. Chances are this is only a small phase of their plan.”

Kuru expressed no interest, but Takii’s words had captivated her with the promise of a wealth of research subjects…the myriad of monsters that the world has to offer. Her curiosity led her to analyze the situation, narrow down the possible orchestrators. A mind as vast as hers certainly could overcome Takii’s own when it came to deduction.

“If they look to destabilize the Youkai Hunters while cementing supernatural beings from other parts of the world in their place, then they are not as fanatic in the eradication of non-human intelligent lifeforms as the Hunters are. At the very least they are willing to compromise.”

Takii’s eyebrow quirked upward, “Compromise? How?”

“You said that the monsters all took a territory for themselves and showed varying concern towards revealing the fact that they had usurped power among the criminal families they targeted. That means they are not an organized group, most likely they had been given a main objective, take control away from the Youkai Hunters in key points of Japan. Afterwards they’d be allowed to do as they pleased.

It was a deal struck between them and the organization who sent them. Someone who would be interested in obtaining hold over Japan’s many otherworldly creatures. Most likely a global superpower.

If they are monsters from the west, we can rule out China as being the government responsible. The very fact that this nation sent a sort of proxy to do their work sounds very much in line with previous efforts from the United States. These monsters acting like Private Military Contractors, so even heinous actions committed by them won’t be blamed directly on the US government.”

“That’s…”

His hands gripped one another tighter. He had expected a large presence to be involved, but a whole country? Would he end up having to face an army if things went wrong?

Kuru seemed to sense his concern. Those deep black eyes picked up on minute details with upmost clarity, after all.

“The Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA as they are better known, they are the specific foe we must face. They will do things as covertly as they can…so there is little likelihood they will try and use more than the monsters they have hired as their agents.

Settle your pulse. There will be no war.”

“Right…I just…” Still feeling so lost. This past week had been a whirlwind of new experiences, and without his powers he felt more helpless than ever.

“Hold on…you just said ‘us’. That means you’re in?” Takii’s head rose upon the realization.

“I will be personally assisting you, provided I am allowed to obtain samples from the creatures we’re to face.” Kuru crossed her arms, a pair of long white limbs with dexterous fingers.

“Thank you, Kuru…really.” Knowing he had already won someone over to his side was a little alleviating. Relying on others…he didn’t hate it as much as he thought.

“Do not concern yourself. I also wish to witness how the latest head of the Tiger Clan, a man from a family destined to rule and conquer, composes himself in this underground war.”

A truly unnatural thing. Kuru smiled. He wasn’t even aware those lips could turn upwards in that near crescent. It reminded him almost of a theater mask, mocking even if it was not her intent.

“Welcome back, Tiger King.”

This was a war. Even if he sought no bloodshed, the fact he had to resort to this all-out battle with an enemy he had yet to even grasp the full extent of was, to Takii, a complete and utter defeat.


End file.
